U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Statistics Bulletin Prison Inmates at Midyear 2007 June 2008, NCJ 221944 ---------------------------------------------------------- This file is text only without graphics and many of the tables. A Zip archive of the tables in this report in spreadsheet format (.csv) and the full report including tables and graphics in .pdf format are available from: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/pim07.htm This report is one in a series. More recent editions may be available. To view a list of all in the series go to http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pubalp2.htm#pjmidyear ----------------------------------------------------------- William J. Sabol, Ph.D. and Heather Couture, BJS Statisticians On June 30, 2007, state and federal correctional authorities had jurisdiction over 1,595,034 prisoners. Of these, 87.5% were under state jurisdiction and 12.5% were under federal jurisdiction (table 1).***State-level prison population data and other detailed informationare available in Appendix tables on the BJS Website at ***More than 95% of prisoners under state and federal jurisdiction were sentenced to more than 1 year. At midyear 2007, the imprisonment rate of persons sentenced to more than 1 year was 509 per 100,000 U.S. residents. Jurisdiction refers to the legal authority over a prisoner regardless of where a prisoner is held. Imprisonment rate refers to the number of persons incarcerated in state and federal prisons per 100,000 U.S. residents. Growth in the prison population slowed slightly during the first six months of 2007 Growth in the number of prisoners under state or federal jurisdiction slowed slightly during the first six months of 2007, compared to the same period in 2006. Between January and June 2007, the prison population increased by 1.6% (or 24,919 prisoners), compared to a 2% increase during the first six months of 2006 (figure 1). The slowdown in the overall growth rate of the prison population during the first half of 2007 was due to a decline in the growth rate of prisoners under state jurisdiction. During the first six months of 2007, the number of prisoners under state jurisdiction grew at a slower rate (1.4%) compared to the same period in 2006 (2%). Prisoners under federal jurisdiction increased more rapidly during the first six months in 2007 (3.1%) compared to the same period in 2006 (1.8%). Growth during the first half of the year generally outpaced growth during the second half More rapid growth during the first six months of the year compared to the second six months was generally observed in the nation's prison population (figure 2). With the exception of 2002, the majority of annual change in the total prison population occurred during the first six months between 2000 and 2006. In 2000 and 2001, almost all of the annual growth in the nation's prison population occurred during the first 6-month periods. Growth in the prison population slowed in the second half of 2000 and decreased between July and December 2001. During 2005 slightly more than half of the annual growth in the prison population occurred during the first half of the year. A little less than half of the growth in 2005 occurred during the second half of the year. Growth during the first half of 2007 slowed in states with the largest prison populations Prison populations in the 10 states with the largest number of prisoners in 2000 increased during 2006 at more than three times (3.2%) the average annual rate of growth (0.9%) from 2000 through 2005.***Prisoners in 2006, BJS Bulletin, December 2007 (p. 3) NCJ 219416.*** During the first half of 2007, growth in the number of prisoners in these states slowed to 0.7%, a 71% decline in the rate of growth from 2006. The 10 states included Texas, California, Florida, New York, Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Louisiana. ***By December 31, 2006, North Carolina replaced Louisiana as the state with the tenth largest prison population.*** Within these 10 states, the majority of the annual growth during 2006 occurred during the first six months of the year (figure 3). Prison populations grew by 2.3% during the 6-month period ending June 30, 2006, and increased by an additional 0.9% during the 6-month period ending December 31, 2006. Growth in the prison population in the remaining 40 states increased by 1.6% during the first six months of 2006 and by 2.2% during the first six months of 2007. All but two (Florida and Pennsylvania) of the10 largest states in 2000 reported slower prison growth during the first six months of 2007 than during the first half of 2006. During the same period, Michigan and Louisiana reported decreases of 1.8% and 0.1%, respectively (appendix table 1). Six-month growth rates in states ranged from increases of more than 8% to decreases of 3% During the first six months of 2007, the prison population increased in 41 states and declined in 8 states (table 2). Wyoming was the only state that did not report a change. Twenty-six of the 41 states that reported an increase exceeded the overall percentage increase (1.4%) in prisoners under jurisdiction of state correctional authorities nationwide. Minnesota (8.6%) reported the largest percentage increase during the first six months of 2007, and Montana (down 2.9%) reported the largest percentage decrease. Florida reported the largest absolute increase (2,109) in the size of its prison population, and Michigan reported the largest absolute decrease (929). Between 2000 and 2006, the prison populations decreased in New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and Illinois; however, during the first six months of 2007, the prison population increased in these states. The largest growth occurred in New Jersey. At midyear 2007, New Jersey reported an increase of 3.7%, up from an annual average decrease of 1.4% from December 2000 to December 2006. For most state prison systems, long-term growth rates (the average annual percent change between yearend 2000 and yearend 2006) differed from short-term growth rates (first six months of 2007). In Massachusetts the long-term growth rate for the prison population increased 0.5%, compared to a 3.7% short-term rate. In Michigan the prison population had an average annual increase of 1.3% between yearend 2000 and yearend 2006, compared to a decline of 1.8% in the first six months of 2007. Growth in sentenced prisoners mirrored growth in all prisoners under jurisdiction The number of prisoners sentenced to more than 1 year increased 1.7% between December 31, 2006 and June 30, 2007, or at about the same rate as the total number of prisoners under jurisdiction (table 3). During the 6-month period ending June 30, 2007, the percentage change in the number of sentenced male and female prisoners increased at about the same rates as the overall percentage change in the number of prisoners under jurisdiction. Female prisoners sentenced to more than 1 year (2.9%) increased at a slightly faster rate than the overall female prison population (2.5%). On June 30, 2007, the imprisonment rate for prisoners sentenced to more than 1 year was 509 per 100,000 U.S. residents, up from 501 at yearend 2006. Male prisoners sentenced to more than 1 year were imprisoned at a rate of 957 per 100,000 male residents; female prisoners were imprisoned at a rate of 69 per 100,000 female residents. Prison admissions growth outpaced growth in releases During 2006 (the most recent data available on prison admissions and releases), the number of sentenced prisoners admitted to state or federal prisons increased to 749,798, up 2.3% over the number admitted in 2005 (table 4). Sentenced prisoners released during 2006 reached 713,473, up 2.1% over the number released in 2005.***To avoid double counting, BJS counts of sentenced admissions and releases exclude transfers, escapes, and AWOLs.*** From yearend 2000 to 2006, the growth in prison admissions (3.1%) exceeded releases (2.8%) (figure 4). The faster rate of growth in the number of admissions was consistent with the general increase of sentenced prisoners between 2000 and 2006. State admissions for parole violations grew more rapidly than new court commitments During 2006, state prisons admitted 692,303 sentenced prisoners, an increase of 2.3% since yearend 2005 (table 5). New court commitments accounted for about 64% of sentenced admissions in 2006, a percentage that has fluctuated between 60% and 64% since 2000. About a third (239,495) of all admissions to state prisons in 2006 were offenders sentenced for violations of parole or conditions of supervised release. This was a 3.1% increase over the 232,229 prisoners admitted for parole violations in 2005. Since 2000, the percentage of state prison admissions for parole violations fluctuated between a high of 36.3% in 2001 to a low of 33.1% in 2003 (figure 5). Parole violators were 34.6% of admissions to prison at yearend 2006. California had both the largest absolute number and percentage increase of admissions for parole violations. In 2006, 64.9% of all admissions in California were for parole violations, down from 68.9% in 2000 (not shown in table). Excluding California, parole violations represented slightly more than a quarter of all state prison admissions in 2006. Use of private facilities and local jails by federal correctional authorities increased 12% At midyear 2007, there were 118,239 prisoners under jurisdiction in privately operated facilities, up 5.4% (6,105 prisoners) from 112,134 at midyear 2006 (table 6). During 2007, the number of prisoners under federal jurisdiction in private facilities increased by 3,271, up 12.1% from June 30, 2006. Between midyear 2006 and midyear 2007, based on reporting from 49 states, the total number of prisoners under jurisdiction in private facilities increased 3.3% (or by 2,834 prisoners). Over a third of this growth was contributed by Arizona. Arizona reported an increase of 957 prisoners which was offset by decreases in other states (appendix table 8). Illinois did not report data in 2007 and did not have offenders in private facilities in 2006. On June 30, 2007, state and federal correctional authorities reported 79,688 prisoners under jurisdiction in local jails, an increase of 2.3% over the 77,903 reported at midyear 2006 (table 7). In both years, 5% of prisoners under state or federal jurisdiction were housed in local jails. During 2007, federal officials increased the number of prisoners housed in local jails by 243 prisoners, up 12.9% from June 30, 2006. State officials increased the number housed in local jails by 1,542 prisoners, up 2.0% from midyear 2006. The majority of this growth can be attributed to the growth in Kentucky (1,588) and Virginia (1,137) (not shown in table). Inmates held in state or federal prison or in local jails increased to nearly 2.3 million On June 30, 2007, an estimated 2.3 million inmates were held in custody in state or federal prison facilities or in local jails (table 8). About two-thirds (66%) of inmates in custody were held in prison, while about a third (34%) were held in local jails. The custody count is defined as all inmates held in state or federal public prison facilities, inmates held in privately operated facilities, and inmates held in local jails, regardless of length of sentence and state holding jurisdiction. It does not include inmates held in U.S. Territories, military facilities, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities, jails in Indian Country, and juvenile facilities. During the first six months of 2007, the custody population grew 1.8% compared to an average annual growth rate of 2.6% from yearend 2000 to yearend 2006. The incarceration rate for inmates in custody increased to 762 persons per 100,000 U.S. residents at midyear 2007, up from 751 at yearend 2006. Incarceration rate refers to the number of inmates held in state or federal prisons or in local jails per 100,000 U.S. residents. Black males ages 30 to 34 had the highest custody incarceration rate of any race, age, or gender group Of the 2.3 million inmates in custody, 2.1 million were men and 208,300 were women (table 9). Black males represented the largest percentage (35.4%) of inmates held in custody, followed by white males (32.9%) and Hispanic males (17.9%). Over a third (33.8%) of the total male custody population was ages 20 to 29 (appendix table 10). The largest percentage of black (35.5%) and Hispanic (39.9%) males held in custody were ages 20 to 29. White males ages 35 to 44 accounted for the largest percentage (30.1%) of the white male custody population. The largest percentage (35.9%) of the female custody population was ages 30 to 39. Over a third of white females (35.9%) were ages 30 and 39. The largest percentage (36.8%) of Hispanic females in custody was ages 20 to 29. The custody incarceration rate for black males was 4,618 per 100,000. Hispanic males were incarcerated at a rate of 1,747 per 100,000. Compared to the estimated numbers of black, white, and Hispanic males in the U.S. resident population, black males (6 times) and Hispanic males (a little more than 2 times) were more likely to be held in custody than white males. At midyear 2007 the estimated incarceration rate of white males was 773 per 100,000. Across all age categories, black males were incarcerated at higher rates than white or Hispanic males. Black males ages 30 to 34 had the highest custody incarceration rate of any race, age, or gender group at midyear 2007 (table 10). At midyear 2007, the incarceration rate of black women held in custody (prison or jail) was 348 per 100,000 U.S. residents compared to 146 Hispanic women and 95 white women. With the exception of females ages 55 to 59, black women were held in custody at higher rates than Hispanic or white women across all age categories. Hispanic and white men accounted for more than half of the increase to the custody population Between 2000 and 2007, the number of inmates in custody in prisons or jails increased by 367,200. Male inmates (315,100) accounted for 86% of the increase to the custody population (table 11). Female inmates (52,100) made up the remaining 14%. From midyear 2000 through midyear 2007, Hispanic men (120,000) represented the largest increase to the custody population. They accounted for a third (32.7%) of the overall change in the number of inmates in prison or jail. White men accounted for a quarter (25.0%), and white women for about a tenth (9.0%) of the overall change during this period. Black men in prison or jail increased by 23,100 and accounted for 6.3% of the overall change to the population. Black women declined by 1,900 during this period. Changes in the incarceration rates for men and women by race were associated with changes to the overall composition of the custody population at midyear 2007. Black men had an incarceration rate of 4,618 per 100,000 U.S. residents at midyear 2007, down from 4,777 at midyear 2000. For white men, the midyear 2007 incarceration rate was 773 per 100,000 U.S. residents, up from 683 at midyear 2000. The ratio of the incarceration rates of black men to white men declined from 7 to 6 during this period. Changes in the incarceration rates for women were more distinct. At midyear 2000, black women were incarcerated at a rate 6 times that of white women (or 380 per 100,000 U.S. residents versus 63 per 100,000 U.S. residents). By June 30, 2007, the incarceration rate for black women declined to 3.7 times that of white women (or 348 versus 95). An 8.4% decline in the incarceration rate for black women and a 51% increase in the rate for white women accounted for the overall decrease in the incarceration rate of black women relative to white women at midyear 2007. Estimated number of non-U.S. citizens and juveniles in state custody increased An estimated 96,703 non-U.S. citizens were held in state or federal custody on June 30, 2007, up an estimated 3.7% from the estimated 93,267 reported to be held in custody on June 30, 2006 (table 12). Three states (Florida, Illinois, and Oregon) not providing data on non-U.S. citizens for midyear 2007 reported holding 8,556 non-U.S. citizens in custody at midyear 2006. The federal system and 40 states reported in both 2006 and 2007. In these 41 jurisdictions the number of non-U.S. citizens increased from 82,497 to 84,942 (not shown in table). California reported an increase of 2,598 non-U.S. citizens; Georgia reported an increase of 1,018. On June 30, 2007, state officials held an estimated 2,639 juveniles (persons under age 18) in custody, a 10.4% increase from the estimated 2,390 juveniles held in custody on June 30, 2006 (table 13). Florida, Illinois, and Oregon did not report data on the number of juveniles held in custody in 2007. In 2006, these three states collectively had custody of 330 juveniles. In the 44 states that reported in 2006 and 2007, the number of juveniles increased by 199, from 2,034 to 2,233 (not shown in table). Alabama (38), Michigan (37), and Mississippi (34) accounted for over half of this growth. Methodology National Prisoner Statistics The National Prisoner Statistics (NPS) program has been collecting statistics on prisoners at midyear and yearend under a Congressional mandate since 1926. The Census Bureau serves as the data collection agent for the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). BJS depends entirely upon the voluntary participation of State Departments of Corrections and the Federal Bureau of Prisons for NPS data. The NPS distinguishes between prisoners in custody and prisoners under jurisdiction. To have custody of a prisoner, a state or the federal system must hold that prisoner in one of its facilities. To have jurisdiction over a prisoner, a state or the federal system must have legal authority over the prisoner. Some states are unable to provide both custody and jurisdiction counts. The NPS jurisdiction counts include inmates held within a jurisdiction's facilities, including prisons, penitentiaries, correctional facilities, halfway houses, boot camps, farms, training/treatment centers, and hospitals. They include inmates who are: *temporarily absent (less than 30 days), out to court, or on work release *held in privately operated facilities, local jails, other state or federal facilities *serving a sentence for a responding jurisdiction and another jurisdiction at the same time. The NPS custody counts include all inmates held within a responding jurisdiction's facilities, including inmates housed for other jurisdictions. The custody counts exclude inmates held in local jails and in other jurisdictions. With a few exceptions for several responding jurisdictions, the NPS custody counts exclude inmates held in privately operated facilities. The NPS counts also include all inmates in state-operated facilities in Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Rhode Island, and Vermont, which have combined jail-prison systems. Since 2001 NPS prisoner counts have excluded inmates held by the District of Columbia, which as of yearend 2001 operated only a jail system. Prisoners sentenced under the District of Columbia criminal code are housed in federal facilities. Illinois provided its 2007 total jurisdiction count. Combined with the 2006 reported counts for gender and sentenced individuals, ratio estimates were calculated to estimate the 2007 jurisdiction counts for males, females, and sentenced individuals. Illinois, Florida, and Oregon did not provide data for non-U.S. citizens and juveniles held in custody at midyear 2007. Estimated totals were calculated using the custody, non-U.S. citizen, and juvenile information provided at midyear 2006. For more information about the NPS data collection instruments, see . Other inmate counts With the exception of 2005, data on the number of inmates held in the custody of local jails are from the BJS Annual Survey of Jails (ASJ). The ASJ provides data on inmates in custody at midyear. For more information about the ASJ, see Methodology in Jail Inmates at Midyear 2007 (NCJ 221945). The number of inmates held in the custody of local jails in 2005 are from the 2005 Census of Jail Inmates. The 2005 Census of Jail Inmates was the eighth in a series. Previous censuses of jails were conducted in 1970, 1972, 1978, 1983, 1988, 1993 and 1999. To reduce respondent burden and improve data quality and timeliness, the census was split into two parts: the Census of Jail Inmates, 2005, and the Census of Jail Facilities, 2006, (conducted on March 31, 2006). As in previous censuses, the U.S. Census Bureau was the collection agent for BJS. The 2005 Census of Jail Inmates included all locally administered confinement facilities (under the authority of 2,853 local jurisdictions). These facilities are intended for adults but sometimes hold juveniles. They hold inmates beyond arraignment and are staffed by municipal or county employees. The census also included 42 jails that were privately operated under contract for local governments and 65 multi-jurisdiction jails that were administered by two or more local governments. Included in the census, but excluded from this report due to lack of comparability with previous survey years, were 13 facilities maintained by the Federal Bureau of Prisons and functioned as jails. The census excluded temporary holding facilities, such as drunk tanks and police lockups, that do not hold persons after they are formally charged in court (usually within 72 hours of arrest). Also, the census excluded state-operated facilities in Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Rhode Island, and Vermont, which have combined jail-prison systems. Fourteen locally operated jails in Alaska were included. All jail jurisdictions responded to the census, resulting in a 100% response rate. Estimating age-specific incarceration rates Estimates are provided for the number of persons held in custody in state or federal prisons or in local jails by gender (within genders by age group), race (non-Hispanic white and non-Hispanic black), and Hispanic origin. The detailed race and Hispanic origin categories exclude estimates of persons identifying two or more races. For 2000 and 2007, estimates were produced separately for inmates under state and federal jurisdiction and then combined to obtain a total estimated population. State estimates were prepared by combining information about the gender of prisoners from the NPS with information on self-reported race and Hispanic origin from the 2004 Survey of Inmates of State Correctional Facilities. To estimate federal prisoners, the distributions of FJSP counts of sentenced federal inmates by gender, age, race, and Hispanic origin on September 30, 2006, were applied to the NPS counts of sentenced federal inmates by gender at midyear 2007. Estimates of the U.S. resident population for July 1, 2007, by age, gender, race, and Hispanic origin, were generated by applying the July 1, 2007 age distributions within gender, race, and Hispanic origin groups to the June 30, 2007 population estimates by gender. The population estimates were provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. Age-specific rates of incarceration for each demographic group were calculated by dividing the estimated number of sentenced prisoners within each age group by the estimated number of U.S. residents in each age group, multiplying the quotient by 100,000, and then rounding to the nearest whole number. Totals by gender include all prisoners and U.S. residents regardless of racial or Hispanic origin, while incarceration rates for detailed race and Hispanic origin groups exclude persons identifying two or more races. NPS jurisdiction notes Alaska--Prisons and jails form one integrated system. All NPS data include jail and prison populations housed in state and out of state. Jurisdictional counts exclude inmates held in local jails that are operated by communities. Arizona--Jurisdiction counts are based on custody data and inmates in contracted beds. California--Non-citizens are defined as inmates held by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Jurisdiction counts include felons and unsentenced inmates who are temporarily housed in local jails or in a hospital. Colorado--Jurisdiction counts include 166 inmates housed in local jails, 4,542 inmates in Colorado contract facilities, and 209 inmates in the Youthful Offender System, which was established primarily for violent juvenile offenders. Counts of inmates with a sentence of more than 1 year include an undetermined number of inmates with a sentence of 1 year or less. Non-citizen is defined as foreign-born. Jurisdiction counts are based on custody counts. Counts for 2006 have been revised to reflect custody counts instead of jurisdiction counts. Connecticut--Prison and jails form one integrated system. All NPS data include jail and prison populations. Delaware--Prisons and jails form one integrated system. All NPS data include jail and prison populations. Federal--Custody counts include inmates housed in secure facilities where the BOP had a direct contract with a private operator or a sub-contract with a private provider at a local government facility. Custody includes 8,025 inmates held in non-secure privately operated community corrections centers (Halfway Houses) and on home confinement. Georgia--Counts are based on custody data. Hawaii--Prisons and jails form one integrated systems. All NPS data include jail and prison populations. Non-citizen data based only on inmates who reported their citizenship. Custody counts exclude inmates held in a state run hospital. Illinois--Data provided only for jurisdiction counts and sentenced prisoner counts. See Methodology. Iowa--Jurisdiction counts are based on custody data. Jurisdiction counts for Inmates with a sentence of more than 1 year include an undetermined number of inmates with a sentence of less than 1 year and unsentenced inmates. Iowa does not differentiate between these groups in its data system. Louisiana--Counts are as of December 27, 2006. Counts include 14,953 males and 1,244 females housed in local jails as a result of a partnership with the Louisiana Sheriffs' Association and local authorities. Custody and jurisdiction counts included evacuees from Hurricane Katrina and other pretrial offenders from Orleans and Jefferson parish jails. Due to the effects of Hurricane Katrina, Orleans and Jefferson parish prison capacities are down. Local jail population is down from the 2004 numbers. Kansas--Jurisdiction counts of inmates with a sentence of more than 1 year include an undetermined number of inmates with a sentence with a sentence of more than 1 year. Citizen counts are estimated. Maryland--Jurisdiction counts by sentence length are estimates extracted from actual sentence length breakdowns from automated data and applied to totals based on manual data. Non-citizen is defined as foreign-born. Massachusetts--By law, offenders may be sentenced to terms of up to 2« years inlocally-operated jails and correctional institutions. Such populations are included in counts and rates for local jails and correctional institutions. About 6,200 inmates with sentences of more than one year were held in local jails. Jurisdiction and custody counts include an undetermined number of inmates who were remanded to court, transferred to the custody of another state, federal, or locally-operated system, and subsequently released. Mississippi--Does not collect citizenship data. Missouri--Non-citizen defined as foreign-born. Nevada--Due to a system conversion, information provided is as of June 4, 2007. New Jersey--Jurisdiction counts of inmates with a sentence of more than 1 year include an undetermined number of inmates with sentences of 1 year. The Department of Corrections has no jurisdiction over inmates with sentences of less than 1 year or over unsentenced inmates. Citizenship data were not collected from every inmate. New York--Reports foreign-born inmates rather than non-citizens. Ohio--Jurisdiction counts of inmates with a sentence of more than 1 year include an undetermined number of inmates with sentences of 1 year or less. Oklahoma--Jurisdiction counts for inmates with sentences of less than 1 year consist mainly of offenders ordered by the court to the Delayed Sentencing Program for Young Adults pursuant to 22 O.S. 996 through 996.3. Non-citizen is defined as any inmate with an ICE detainer. Oregon--Jurisdiction counts include an undetermined number of inmates with sentences of one year or less. County authorities retain jurisdiction over the majority of these types of inmates. Rhode Island--Prisons and jails form one integrated system. All NPS data include jail and prison populations. Tennessee--Non-citizen defined as foreign-born. Vermont--Prisons and jails form one integrated system. All NPS data include jail and prison populations. This report in portable document format (includes 12 appendix tables) and in ASCII and its related statistical data are available at the BJS World Wide Web Internet site: Office of Justice Programs Innovation Partnerships Safer Neighborhoods http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov The Bureau of Justice Statistics is the statistical agency of the U.S. Department of Justice. Jeffrey L. Sedgwick is the director. BJS Bulletins present the first release of findings from permanent data collection programs. This Bulletin was written by William J. Sabol, Ph.D., and Heather Couture. Todd D. Minton verified the report. Theresa M. Reitz carried out the data collection and processing under the supervision of Charlene M. Sebold, Governments Division, Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Commerce. Duane H. Cavanaugh provided technical assistance. Georgette Walsh edited the report, Tina Dorsey produced the report, and Jayne E. Robinson prepared the report for final printing under the supervision of Doris J. James. June 2008, NCJ 221944 6/04/2008/JR